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Puerto Rico Gets First Olympic Gold as Monica Puig Surprises in Tennis
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREYAUG. 13, 2016
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Puig’s victory is the biggest surprise in singles in Olympic tennis since Nicólas Massú of Chile won the men’s gold in 2004. But Massú was at least seeded 10th in Athens. Puig was not seeded at all, and she was hardly the only big surprise in Rio.
On Saturday, Juan Martín del Potro, a 6-foot-6 Argentine still working his way back from his latest wrist surgery, put an end to the feel-good run of Rafael Nadal, winning one of the most spectacular matches of the year, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5), to reach the final.
Del Potro, a former United States Open champion ranked 141st, broke down in tears in victory, just as he did when he upset Novak Djokovic in the first round. He will face Andy Murray of Britain for the gold medal. Murray defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-1, 6-4, in the other semifinal.
Puig is not only the first gold medalist from Puerto Rico. She is the first woman representing Puerto Rico to win any medal at the Games.
Other Puerto Rican tennis players have won Olympic titles before. Gigi Fernandez won two Olympic gold medals in doubles, but she chose to represent the United States in international competition. Puig, despite growing up in Miami and training in Boca Raton, has chosen to represent the island where she was born.
“I’ve always been 100 percent loyal,” she said. “I still have family in Puerto Rico, and I’ve gone back quite a lot. It’s my favorite place to go when I just want to go to the beach or just see family. That island has given me so much, so much love and support throughout my whole career, and I just owe this to them.”
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It was also an emotional lift for Puerto Rico, which is struggling economically. In San Juan, the capital city, television footage showed largely empty streets as Puerto Ricans watched Puig’s Olympic moment. Inside the stadium, there were several big blocs of Puerto Rican fans waving flags and chanting Puig’s first name.
Though she said she felt ready “to explode any minute” because of the pressure, she gave few hints of that on the court, holding firm against Kerber in the opening set and then shrugging off the loss of the second set by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the third.
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Rio 2016
Sam Manchester will guide you through the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Hey. It’s Sam from the NYT Sports desk. I’m at the Olympics in Rio (so you don’t have to be
). Grab a limited spot and I’ll text you updates, answer your questions and share the behind-the-scenes stuff nobody else gets.
Thanks! Talk to you soon.
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U.S. numbers only. Standard messaging rates may apply. Your information is used only to deliver messages about the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Beating the quick and consistent Kerber from the baseline is quite a task, but Puig was an effective aggressor, opening up the court with her best shot — her two-handed backhand.
“I think she came with no pressure, and she played one of the best weeks in her career and her life,” said the second-seeded Kerber. “She has nothing to lose, and she was going for it.”
Kerber said she was suffering from back pain early in the match but added that it had not been a factor in her defeat. The problem was that Puig kept making her visit corner after corner of the court.
Closing Kerber out proved tricky, however, as she saved three match points — the third with a forehand net-cord winner. But Puig showed no negativity, throwing herself into each exchange.
“I never thought I’d manage to win this so early in my career,” she said. “I knew that I might have another chance four years from now, but I wanted it so much. I fought with my heart and soul out there. And I got it.’’
Her game face did not last long. She was soon on her knees, hands covering her face, sobbing uncontrollably. It has been a particularly emotional and compelling Olympic tournament, and not just for Puig, and she was soon on the medal stand, listening to “La Borinqueña,” the commonwealth anthem of Puerto Rico.
Her father had emailed her the lyrics in the morning just in case. She had not had time to memorize them all, but she knew quite a few.
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“If I would have stopped crying, I would probably have started singing, but the thing is, I couldn’t,” she said. “I was choking up every single time.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/s...angelique-kerber-puerto-rico-tennis.html?_r=0
Well done Monica Puig
Buen Trabajo - You are the pride of Puerto Rico
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREYAUG. 13, 2016
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- French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in the third round by the remarkable score of 6-1, 6-1, and then Kerber.
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At the beginning of the season, Puig was almost out of the top 100, but she used the Olympics for motivation, managed to qualify with a third-round run at the French Open and then was nothing short of inspired as she represented Puerto Rico, a United States commonwealth that fields its own team at the Olympics but had never won a gold medal of its own.
“I know the country really appreciates this, and I really wanted to give this victory to them,” she said. “And the way I did it tonight, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Puig’s victory is the biggest surprise in singles in Olympic tennis since Nicólas Massú of Chile won the men’s gold in 2004. But Massú was at least seeded 10th in Athens. Puig was not seeded at all, and she was hardly the only big surprise in Rio.
On Saturday, Juan Martín del Potro, a 6-foot-6 Argentine still working his way back from his latest wrist surgery, put an end to the feel-good run of Rafael Nadal, winning one of the most spectacular matches of the year, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5), to reach the final.
Del Potro, a former United States Open champion ranked 141st, broke down in tears in victory, just as he did when he upset Novak Djokovic in the first round. He will face Andy Murray of Britain for the gold medal. Murray defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-1, 6-4, in the other semifinal.
Puig is not only the first gold medalist from Puerto Rico. She is the first woman representing Puerto Rico to win any medal at the Games.
Other Puerto Rican tennis players have won Olympic titles before. Gigi Fernandez won two Olympic gold medals in doubles, but she chose to represent the United States in international competition. Puig, despite growing up in Miami and training in Boca Raton, has chosen to represent the island where she was born.
“I’ve always been 100 percent loyal,” she said. “I still have family in Puerto Rico, and I’ve gone back quite a lot. It’s my favorite place to go when I just want to go to the beach or just see family. That island has given me so much, so much love and support throughout my whole career, and I just owe this to them.”
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Continue reading the main story
It was also an emotional lift for Puerto Rico, which is struggling economically. In San Juan, the capital city, television footage showed largely empty streets as Puerto Ricans watched Puig’s Olympic moment. Inside the stadium, there were several big blocs of Puerto Rican fans waving flags and chanting Puig’s first name.
Though she said she felt ready “to explode any minute” because of the pressure, she gave few hints of that on the court, holding firm against Kerber in the opening set and then shrugging off the loss of the second set by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the third.
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Rio 2016
Sam Manchester will guide you through the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Hey. It’s Sam from the NYT Sports desk. I’m at the Olympics in Rio (so you don’t have to be
). Grab a limited spot and I’ll text you updates, answer your questions and share the behind-the-scenes stuff nobody else gets.Thanks! Talk to you soon.
Privacy policy
U.S. numbers only. Standard messaging rates may apply. Your information is used only to deliver messages about the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Beating the quick and consistent Kerber from the baseline is quite a task, but Puig was an effective aggressor, opening up the court with her best shot — her two-handed backhand.
“I think she came with no pressure, and she played one of the best weeks in her career and her life,” said the second-seeded Kerber. “She has nothing to lose, and she was going for it.”
Kerber said she was suffering from back pain early in the match but added that it had not been a factor in her defeat. The problem was that Puig kept making her visit corner after corner of the court.
Closing Kerber out proved tricky, however, as she saved three match points — the third with a forehand net-cord winner. But Puig showed no negativity, throwing herself into each exchange.
“I never thought I’d manage to win this so early in my career,” she said. “I knew that I might have another chance four years from now, but I wanted it so much. I fought with my heart and soul out there. And I got it.’’
Her game face did not last long. She was soon on her knees, hands covering her face, sobbing uncontrollably. It has been a particularly emotional and compelling Olympic tournament, and not just for Puig, and she was soon on the medal stand, listening to “La Borinqueña,” the commonwealth anthem of Puerto Rico.
Her father had emailed her the lyrics in the morning just in case. She had not had time to memorize them all, but she knew quite a few.
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
“If I would have stopped crying, I would probably have started singing, but the thing is, I couldn’t,” she said. “I was choking up every single time.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/s...angelique-kerber-puerto-rico-tennis.html?_r=0
Well done Monica Puig
Buen Trabajo - You are the pride of Puerto Rico
